Hearing Bernard's announcement, the rubbernecker's opinion of him shifted dramatically once more."I mean, the geezer sure was dirty, but he's a changed man now, sacrificing billions for the sake of justice. Does what he did in the past even compare? What, cat got your tongue? Look me in the eyes and tell it to my ace!"The journalists present also gave in, as the geezer's retort was irrefutable, and now he had transcended to divinity.Naturally, that also depends on him going through with his promise, instead of calling it a bluff.Some journalists were naturally skeptical he would really sacrifice so much, and pressed, "Are you sure you will shut down all your outlets, Mr. Arnault? Or is this just some lip service, having everything shut down one day before carrying on as usual the next? Will we ever see one of your outlets reopen for business?""Indefinitely, and definitely not in the immediate future," Bernard calmly replied. "I know you think I'm exaggerating and trying to gr

Bernard's moves earned him universal acclaim, and everyone was praising them except his employees.They thought they'd be freeloading for three years, only for that dream to unravel less than a minute—they didn't even have time to celebrate.And now, for the next three years, they were either sticking to their jobs by standing around like mascots, or switching careers.While playing mascot means less work, they still have to clock in and out regularly every day. And for sales employees, no sales meant no commission. Didn't that just mean being confined to their base salary?Most sales employees probably wouldn't last with that, and choose to resign on their own.That would actually help Bernard's conglomerate save money and operational efficiency. Sales were not going to increase with what they were doing, and it was even better for them if their sales staff chose to resign on their own.They don't have to pay for employees who basically do nothing, and they just need a couple

However, Charlie had no intention to do that. While he didn't have the business acumen or the cunning that Bernard and his business rivals had, he was far more of a visionary than the geezer.He was the one who created the game, after all. Since the player found an exploitable glitch, he has to concede and not confiscate what the player gained… or at least, not immediately.Changing minds too quickly was the worst mistake a game manager could make, not to mention he didn't really care about said exploitable glitch.Even if he counted all the losses he would incur in the US market from the glitch, that's just five billion USD at worst. With that amount, hitting the fifty-billion quota he demands still takes at least a decade.On the other hand, all he needed to give was a single Rejuvenation Pill.In that case, why not give Bernard a chance, let him exploit the glitch so that he becomes even more invested in the game? And in the first place, he made that game so that Bernard

As leaving the borders means having to go through facial recognition software, even disguises could be exposed with the help of the AI module. Even changing into a completely different identity to clear customs would trigger alerts from facial recognition.Under some circumstances, there was no way out of the US unless it was through illegal border crossing.Even then, the Blackwater executives were all convinced they still had a chance, even bringing along their backup ID and passports as they rushed to the nearest international airport, booking the next flights out of the country.As long as they could make it out—even to Mexico, they could quickly switch to another identity before crossing into other countries.However, as soon as they arrived at the airport, they were all arrested by the FBI at customs without exception.Later in the afternoon, the US government called for an emergency press conference on Blackwater and the terrorist attack on Randheli. However, the media was

Bernard knew very well that, considering Charlie's identity, influence, and his present assets as well as wealth, he really didn't care about two billion US dollars—or twenty, for that matter.In fact, he wouldn't even bat an eye if Bernard wired a couple of billion to him directly in cash, just as the two islands were unimportant to him.However, Bernard thought that since Charlie was the real leader of the Ten Thousand Armies, he just had to invest in his interests, that was, the Ten Thousand Armies.With Blackwater's doom at hand, the Ten Thousand Armies most definitely would be welcoming prospects for new development.And with him investing a hefty sum in them, the Ten Thousand Armies would definitely rapidly improve in structure and strength!In reality, the Ten Thousand Armies wasn't short on money either, as Charlie wasn't just investing a couple of checks in them. Moreover, they had a sizable, stable income that they invested in building bases, with steady R&D on their c